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“You’re a cheeky little thing.”
“Um, you also got me a present. A very beautiful present, actually.”
“It was nothing,” I told her.
“It was not! It was so thoughtful!”
“I’m glad you like it,” I said.
“How could I—” she began, but the smile on her face fell. “Oh God,” she said, her back stiffening.
I set her down.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Cramp?”
“Uh, n-no,” she said, her hand at her back. “I need—” She stopped short, falling against me.
“Cricket?” I asked, worried.
“Home,” she whispered, the color draining from her face.
“Cricket!” I yelled, scooping her up in my arms as she collapsed toward the ground.
“Cricket,” I demanded, panicking, but she didn’t respond.
I checked for a pulse but it was weak. She was breathing though, shallowly. I ran with her in my arms up the deck and into the living room, shouting.
“Ellie! Emmett!”
I laid Cricket on the sofa and reached for the phone, dialing nine-one-one.
“Ellie!” I shouted once more before the operator answered.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
“Uh, my girlfriend just collapsed and I’m not sure what’s wrong with her. Please,” I pleaded, “send an ambulance immediately.”
Ellie came bounding into the room, tying a robe around her waist. “What’s wrong?” she began but took in Cricket on the sofa.
“Emmett!” she shouted and ran over to her. “Oh Lord! Cricket,” she said, crying, “can you hear me?”
I hung up the phone and kneeled at her side. “I don’t know what happened,” I explained. “One minute she was fine, and the next she was grabbing at her back.”
Ellie was crying and smoothing Cricket’s hair from her face. “She, uh, she has kidney failure, Spencer.”
It felt like a bomb had just been dropped, shattering my perfect world.
“What?” I asked.
“The past year, she’s needed dialysis several times a week. She needs a transplant.”
My chest felt constricted and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t have time to worry about anything other than getting Cricket help.
“What can I do?” I asked.
“Are they sending an ambulance?”
I shook my head. “No, a medevac.”
